Stockmanship Video: Safe Handling of Bulls

Jul 1, 2017 | 09:49
2
Good video, even though I've been working with bulls all my life there is always something to learn - never knew the point about getting them to look at you with both eyes for their depth perception.

Jul 1, 2017 | 11:39
3
Pretty quiet 2 year old bulls to be using for practice. Try keeping the pressure on a couple of cantankerous 5 year olds, or even one in the alley and see how quick they can turn on you. Yearlings and 2 year olds are, in general, easy to work with. Lots of bulls that would have made mince meat out of him - see them at the sales barn all the time - more so than quiet ones. I get a kick of him standing behind swung gates and panels as a 'safe zone'. A big angry bull just see's those as a stack of toothpicks.

Also when the two bulls were squaring off why didn't he split them when he had the chance? When he said he might have to "touch him" to get the bulls attention, at our place you'd get kicked or bunted unless your using a cane or such to keep a little distance. Usually I'm more afraid of them pushing each other into me than taking me on. I always find it interesting helping someone else with their cows to see how they handle them. Usually both parties can learn a few things.

Jul 4, 2017 | 07:56
5
I spent a fair bit of time with Curt on a road trip where he was doing handling demo sessions. He is definitely a good stockman. The first thing I heard him say is that the flight zone might be a few feet or 1/4 mile. That is the key. A bull with a 1/4 mile flight zone would probably not make a good instructional video.
That said, I think if Curt came out to your place, that crazy bull would likely be a lot less so.
At one of the demos he did, he had help from an "expert" who was consistently in the wrong place at the wrong time. The assistant did not even see how Curt moved to still put the yearling roping steers where he wanted them and outmaneuver both the cattle and his helper. It was pretty seamless.